Heartbeat monitor with audio and visual outputs

ABSTRACT

A pocket size, self-contained cardiac monitor for on-patient or central station monitoring by visible and/or audible signals related to the beat of a patient&#39;&#39;s heart, the monitor having the features of: using its own circuitry for calibration; having a time delay to mask out spurious signals; and having circuit means to drive a monitor lamp and speaker with a minimum of power.

United States Patent [191 Edenhofer [541 HEARTBEAT MONITOR WITH AUDIOAND VISUAL OUTPUTS [75] Inventor: Harry .I. Edenhofer, Southampton,

[73] Assignee: Survival Technology, Inc., Bethesda,

[22] Filed: Oct. 16, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 406,890

Related U.S. Patent Documents [58] Field of Search 128/205 R', 2.06 A,2.06 F, 128/206 R, 2.05 T

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,492,617 12/1949 Boland eta1 128/206 11] E Re. 28,529

[ 1 Reissued Aug. 26, 1975 2,927,573 3/1960 Roepke et a1 128/205 T3.138,151 6/1964 Chapman et a1... 128/205 3,144,018 8/1964 Head 128/206X 3,144,019 8/1964 Haber 128/206 A 3.316.897 9/1967 Weidinger et a1.128/206 3 ,426,150 2/1969 Tygart 128/206 R 3,599,628 8/1971 Abbenante eta1 128/206 F OTHER PUBLICATIONS Bastir, German allowed application No.1,264,680, Mar. 28, 1968, 5 drawings, 5 pages-spec. (128/206) PrimaryEranzinerWilliam E. Kamm Attorney, Agent, or FirmCushman, Darby &Cushman [57] ABSTRACT A pocket size, self-contained cardiac monitor foronpatient or central station monitoring by visible and/or audiblesignals related to the beat of a patients heart, the monitor having thefeatures of: using its own circuitry for calibration; having a timedelay to mask out spurious signals; and having circuit means to drive amonitor lamp and speaker with a minimum of power.

4 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures Reissuecl Aug. 26, 1975 2 Sheets-Sheet 1REMOTE JACK INPUT JACK RANGE INVENTOR.

Harry J. Edenhofer Frederick J. Olsson ATTORNEY.

HEARTBEAT MONITOR WITH AUDIO AND VISUAL OUTPUTS Matter enclosed in heavybrackets I: 1 appears in the original patent but forms no part of thisreissue specification; matter printed in italics indicates the additionsmade by reissue.

This is a reissue application based on US. Pat. No. 3,613,670 issuedOct. I9, 1971.

This invention relates to medical equipment and in particular relates toa device serving as a cardiac monitor by producing audible and/orvisible signals which are related to the heart rate of a persons heart,the audible signals being in the form of beeps from a speaker and thevisual signals being flashes of light from a lamp.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a design for a cardiacmonitor which permits either onpatient or central station type ofmonitoring, for the latter type the monitor unit being directlyconnectable to the room call system for activating the alarms orindicators at the nurses central station.

A further object of the invention is .to provide a cardiac monitorhaving audible and/or visible signals activated in an alarm mode, in thealarm mode the signals being activated in a low range when the heartrate is below a selected rate setting and in a high range when the heartrate exceeds a selected rate setting.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cardiac monitor of thekind in question having circuitry arranged so that spurious signals donot activate the audio visual indicators and thereby prevent falsealarms.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cardiac monitor havingaudible and/or visible signals activated in an alarm mode or in a pulsemode. In the latter mode the signals being activated directly inaccordance with the heart rate.

Another object of the invention is to provide in a cardiac monitor ofthe kind in question circuitry wherein the heart rate set points can bechecked for accuracy simply by use of the circuitry itself and therebyobviate the necessity for additional test equipment.

Another object of the invention is to provide in a cardiac monitor ofthe kind in question an audio-visual signal generator having a minimumnumber of circuit components and which draws for operation onlyapproximately 2 milliamperes from an 8.4-volt battery.

With the above in mind the invention will be explained below inconnection with the following drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view representing various switches and controlknobs which. may be on a face panel of an instrument constructed in"accordance with the invention; and I I: FIG. 2 is 1 FIGS. 2-2b are adiagrammatic view partially in block form and partially in circuit formshowing various of the electrical components of the invention.

At the outset it is pointed out that the invention contemplates the useof standard conventional electrical components such as transistors,capacitors, resistors, diodes and the like. These various components arearranged and correlated with respect to one another in a unique mannerso as to perform certain functions for carrying out the desiredmonitoring operation.

Referring to FIG. 1 the panel illustrates a monitor adapted for maximumfunctions as may be required as for example by a patient under intensivecare.

The invention contemplates that the device be battery operated and thatthe battery be contained within the housing of the unit. This is ofadvantage in that the unit electrically floats so to speak anddisturbances created from AC sources or other peripheral equipment areeliminated. The power switch SW-l connects or disconnects the batterywith thecircuit.

Below the power switch is the mode switch SW-Z which conditions the unitfor operation in either the alarm mode or to the pulse mode. The lampswitch SW-3 provides for use of the lamp either in alarm mode or inpulse mode. The lamp which is indicated at 1 flashes at a periodcorresponding to the beat of the patients heart. To the right of thealarm light 1, I have indicated several slots 2. These provide openingsfor a speaker disposed inside of the unit which, of course,

provides the audible signals.

The panel hasa rotatable control knob 3 associated with a scale 4. Theknob 3 hasan arrow 5 which indicates the rotational position of the knobon the scale 4. Adjacent the knob 3 there is a similar knob 8 with anarrow 9 which is used in association with the scale 10.

The knob 3 is used for low-range monitoring. When the arrow 5 points,say to the numeral 40 on the scale, the unit will give visible andaudible signals as long as the patients heart rate is below 40 beats perminute. After this rate of 40 beats per minute, the audiblevisiblesignal will cut off and will remain off until the heart rate reaches anupper limit.

The knob 8 is used forthe high range monitoring. When the knob is set sothat the arrow 9 corresponds to, say the number 120, the unit will beginto give audible and visible signals when the patients heart rate isgreater than 120 beats per minute.

The signals as between the low and high ranges are distinquishable bythe difference in rate of occurrence and by that in the low-ratecondition each signal is somewhat drawn out.

The switches S W4 and SW-2 are used in the process of checking accuracyof the rate setting in the low and in the high range.

Also, in FIG. 1, l have indicated a remote jack l1 and a scope jack 12.The remote jack is for use in integrating the unit into central stationtype of monitoring. For example, by a jack from the unit to the callsystem so that an alarm signal is fed to the central station. Thepurpose of the scope jack is that the EKG signal from the patient can beput on a oscilloscope for display.

As will be apparent to those skilled in the art as the descriptionproceeds, the theory of operation of the device is in comparing twoelectrical quantities or signals and then initiating a resultant signalwhen the comparison indicates that certain conditions are present asbetween the two quantities. The device develops a quantity in the formofa square wave signal, the total period or interval of which is afunction of the time constant of the circuit which develops the signaland also the heart rate of the patient. The circuitry also developsanother quantity in the form of a square wave signal, the

is developed which-indicates the condition, ie. that the heart rate isless or greater than the set-in rate limit (by knob 3 or knob 8).

With the above in mind, reference is made to FIG. 2 for a more detailedexplanation of the invention.

The first mechanism to be described is the trigger mechanism. This isindicated generally in FIG. 2 by the dotted line 15. The function ofthis mechanism is to receive the EKG signal from the electrodes attachedto the patient and to convert these signals into trigger pulses. Whilethe trigger mechanism may take a variety of forms, the arrangement notedin block form within the dotted lines has special advantages and istherefore prefe rred.

The input jack 16 is of conventional form and is adapted to be connectedto the electrodes (not shown) which are placed on the patient in theusual manner. The electrodes are conventional preferably beingEKONOTRODE brand. The first component in the trigger mechanism is aninput overload safeguard 20 which in essence is a pair of diodesconnected back to back, the purpose of which is to short out any highvoltages which may be inadvertently or otherwise transferred into thejack. The signal from the overload 20 is fed to an amplifier 21 whichamplifies the signal received from the patient. Connected to the outputof the amplifier 21 is a low-pass filter 22. The purpose of this filteris to take out high-frequency signals due to patient muscle movement. Inconnection with the lowpass filter 22 the invention contemplates a60-cycle notch filter 23 to remove any 60-cycle interference that may bepresent. The scope jack 12 is on the output of 60-cy'cle filter in orderthat the heart signal (minus the filtered out components) can be feddirectly to an oscilloscope for" observation. The output of the 60-cyclenotch filter is then amplified by the amplifier 24 for furtherprocessing. The peak detector 25 and the low-pass filter 26 producerectified and filtered positive pulses. These are then fed into aninverter 27, the output of which produces negatively going triggerpulses when fed through the switch S4 to the input of a one-shotmultivibrator indicated within the dotted lines 30.

In the explanation which follows it will be presumed that the switchSW-l is in the on" position and the mode switch SW-2 is in the alarmposition and that the light switch SW-3 is also in the alarm position.The battery 29 is connected to the circuit as shown.

The one shot 30 is of conventional form comprising a pair of transistors31 and 32 which are resistancecapacitanc'e coupled as by the resistance33 and the capacitor'34.

The function of the one shot 30 is to receive the trigger pulses and todevelop an output signal ultimately used in the comparison process. Theoutput of the one shot is a square wave, the total period or interval ofwhich is made up of an on" portion (a pulse) and an off portion. Theperiod is the same as that of the trigger pulses. The on" portion isstarted by a trigger pulse and is of fixedduration depending upon thetime constant or the values of 37 and 34. The off portion remains offuntil the trigger pulse.

The output of the one shot is connected via the diode 35 and the line 36to the gate mechanism within the dotted lines 40 and also connected tothe input of a low-range delay mechanism within the dotted lines 41. Thelow delay 41 and the gate 40 will be explained following. i i

The low delay 41 is a conventional construction and comprises atransistor 42 which functions as an inverter and transistor 43 which hasan RC circuit comprising the variable resistor 44 and the capacitor45coupled to the base of the transistor. With the switch SW-2 in the alarmposition the output of the time delay mechanism 41 includes the emitterfollower 46.

The function of the low mechanism 41 is to receive the signal from theone shot and develop an output signal which is used in the comparingprocess. The output signal of the low delay 41 is a square wavecomprised of an on portion (a pulse) and an off" portion. The totalperiod or interval is the same as between trigger pulses. The low delay41 is turned on at the time of the termination of the one shot pulse oron portion. The duration of the on portion is controlled by theadjustment of the resistor 44 as noted below, The off portion is afunction of theperiod between trigger pulses since the pulse turns onthe one shot and when the same finishes operating, the time delay isturned on again.

The RC circuit determines the nonconduction time of the transistor 43and therefore controls the duration or the on time of the low delay 41.The resistor 44 is coupled to the knob 3 (FIG. 1) and the resistancevalue is changed by the rotation of the knob. When the knob'3 is rotatedso that the arrow 5 is aligned with one of the numbers on the scale 4,the value of the resistor is such that the duration of the on portioncorresponds to the heart rate setting on the scale.

From the above it will be apparent that the time relationship of theone-shot signal and the low delay signal is fixed in that the one shotis turned on by a trigger pulse and the low delay is turned on by theone shot. In other words, the one shot is turned on by a trigger pulse,has a fixed on portion and then goes off until the next trigger pulse.The low delay is turned on when the one shot goes off, has a settableon" period and then goes off until turned on again by the one shot.

The gate mechanism 40 comprises a pair of. input diodes 49 and 50 andoutput resistor 52. Diode 49 is connected to the one shot output. Eitherdiode will conduct when an. anode is positive with respect to thecathode. In the case of the low delay, the diode 49 is active and theoutput is a square wave, the same as the one shot square wave.

The output of the low delay 41 and the output of the gate 40 areconnected to the comparing mechanism 53 which will compare the signalsand sense whether the heart rate is below the rate set in by the arrow5. This is explained by the following.

The comparing mechanism 53 is a silicon-controlled rectifier SCR 54. TheSCR will conduct when the gate is positive and the cathode negative.Conduction is stopped by the cathode going positive. The signal from thegate 40 and the signal from the low delay 41 (via emitter follower 46)are respectively applied to the gate and the cathode to effect theconduction modes as noted below.

When the one shot 30 is off or on nonconducting the anode of the gatediode 49 is biased positively through the resistor 51. This causes thediode to conduct through resistor 52 and a positive voltage appears onthe gate of the SCR 54. Inasmuch as the one shot is turned off, the timedelay has been turned on and the emitter follower 46'does not conduct.This puts a positive voltage on the cathode of the SCR 54 so the SCRdoes not conduct.

Assuming a trigger pulse has not yet carried at the completion of the oncondition of the low time delay, (nonconduction of the emitterfollower), the time delay will go into the o'ff"- condition and theemitter follower-will commence conduction. This will make the cathode ofthe SCR negative and the same will conduct. The SCR will continue toconduct until the low time delay is turned to the on condition by theone shot.

.- The conduction of the SCR 54 of comparing mechanism 53 is adapted toprovide for the actuation of the audible and/or visible signals.However, it is believed expedient to defer going into this until afterthe explanation of the workings of the high delay mechanism which isindicated in FIG. 1 within the dotted lines 60.

Before proceeding, it is pointed out that where the heart rate is overthe rate limit setting on the low range, the trigger pulses appear withsuch rapidity that the low delay cannot complete its on" portion beforethe next pulse appears. Under this condition the one-shot signal and thelow delay signals are duplicates. Therefore, the polarities of thevoltages on the SCR will not be correct to cause conduction. There willnot be any audible or visible signal (up until the rate exceeds thesetting on the high range). Within this rate period the high delay 60(commented on below) has no effect in turning on the SCR 54.

The high delay mechanism 60 is constructed in the manner similar to thelow delay mechanism 41. The high delay includes the transistor 61 whichfunctions as an inverter together with the output transistor 62 to whosebase is connected an RC circuit comprising the variable resistor 63 andthe capacitor 64.

When the switch SW-2 is in pulse position the fol- .lower 40 is part ofthe high delay 60.

The output from the low delay is connected to the high delay and willcause the same to develop a square wave output. The duration of the on"portion of the signal is determined by the setting of the resistor 63.The resistor 63 is connected to the knob 8 (FIG. 1) so that the outputor conduction time of the transistor 62 is a function of the rate limitset in accordance with the scale 10. In the case of the high delay thediode 50 is active and functions in the same manner as the diode Sincean audible or visible indication is desired when the heart rate exceedsthe setting on the scale 10 (FIG. 1) the high delay is used to turn onthe SCR 54 while the one shot signal is used to turn off the SCR 54.Actually, the low delay signal is used for turn off purposes since thissignal is a duplicate of the one shot.

With reference to FIG. 1 it will be observed that when the high delay ison or nonconducting, a positive voltage is applied to the gate of SCR54. At this time the low delay is on and a positive voltage is alsoapplied to the cathode of the SCR. The SCR cannot conduct. The high andlow delays go off together and this causes negative voltages on the gateand cathode of the SCR and the same cannot conduct. Therefore, I haveincluded an additional. delay in the output of the high delay in theform of a capacitor 65 and resistor 66. This had the effect ofmomentarily holding up the positive voltage on the gate. At thisinstant, of course, the cathode will bemegative and therefore the SCRwill have theproperpolarity for conduction. The SCR will continue toconduct until the low delay stops conducting so that a positive voltageis applied to the cathode.

As mentioned heretofore, the invention is versatile in that it mayadapted to fit the particular needs of a patient. For example, in FIG. 1I have shown circuitry for adapting the unit with both the visible andaudible signals to be observed by the patient. This is enclosed withinthe dotted lines 0-1.

Also, I have shown circuitry particularly useful for central stationmonitoring. This is shown within the dotted lines 02.

For purposes of explanation, let us assume that the arrangement withinthe dotted lines 0-1 is to be activated by the comparing mechanism.

When the SCR 54 conducts a negative bias is put on the base of thetransistor 67 and since its emitter is positive, the transistor cannotconduct. The effect of this is to complete the circuit including thesecondary coil of the isolation transformer T-1 and the primary coil ofthe speaker transformer T2. The secondary coil of the transformer T2 isconnected to the speaker 8-1. When the secondary coil of the transformerT-2 is energized, the speaker responds.

At the same time, conduction of the SCR 54 causes negative bias on thebase of the transistor 68 and since its emitter is positive thetransistor conducts. Conduction of the transistor 68 puts the positivesupply voltage on the emitter of the transistor 69.This causes theemitter-to-base conduction in the transistor 69 down through theresistor 70 up through the primary coil 71 of the transformer Tl, downthrough the resistor 72, through the base and emitter of the transistor73 to ground.

The above-described emitter-to-base conduction biases the transistors 69and 73 so that they have collector conduction through the primary 71 oftransformer Tl. The collector conduction increases until there is biasdrop off on each transistor. The collector conduction causes a fieldacross the primary coil 71 of the transformer Tl.

With the stopping of the collector conduction the field collapses andinduces high voltage in the primary coil 71 of Tl which is rectified bydiode 75 and filtered by capacitor 76 to provide a DC potential for neonlamp 1. This also induces a voltage in the secondary coil of Tl. Whencurrent flows in the secondary circuit and the speaker 8-1 is activated,audible tone is caused by the rapid energizing and collapsing of thefield.

The arrangement comprising the transistor 69 and 73, the transformer Tl,the coupling resistors 70 and 72, together with the diode 75 connectedin series with the parallel arranged neon lamp 1 and capacitor 76 is animportant part of the invention. I have found that this arrangement isconducive of beingable to drive both the speaker and the lamp with avery minimum of current. For example, in one embodiment with a batteryvoltage of 8.4 volts, both the lamp and speaker can be activated whiledrawing about 2.0 milliamperes.

The function of the circuit within the dotted lines 02 for remotecentral station operation will next be described.

The remote station circuit is connected across the battery conductorsand to the SCR 54 as shown in FIG. 1. The speaker 8-1 is out of thecircuit and the speaker S2 is connected into the circuit via theconnection as shown as A and B. The jack 11 is connected to the remotestation (not shown) via a plug to the patients call system.

With the remote station arrangement, it is usually desirable to disablethe speaker in the unit so that the noise of the same will not disturbthe patient, but to leave the light operative to provide monitoring fora nurse in the patients room. Thus, when the plug is connected to thejack 11, the connection between the terminals 76 and 77 is broken andthis disconnects the speaker S-2. The signal produced by circuit is fedto the remote station via the terminals 77 and 78.

For remote station monitoring it is desirable to provide a delay betweenthe time an alarm signal appears (conduction of the SCR 54) and the timea signal is fed to the remote station. The reason for the delay is totry to avoid spurious alarms. For example, if the unit is quiescentbecause the beat rate is between the low and the high range somespurious signal causing the conduction of SCR 54 will not provide analarm at the remote station unless the circuit signal is repeated in amanner the same as a heart beat. The circuit provides for this delay asexplained following.

When the SCR 54 of the comparing mechanism 53 is in the off condition,the resistor 80 will bias the transistor 81 so that it conducts. Thiswill negatively bias the emitter 84 of the unijunction transistor 82 sothat it will not fire.

When the SCR 54 conducts, the transistor 81 stops conducting andpositive bias is supplied to the unijunction emitter through theresistor 83. The capacitor 86 however will not permit the bias to beapplied immediately to the unijunction emitter 84. The charge time ofthe capacitor 86 is such that the SCR 54 will conduct several timesbefore the capacitor will be charged enough so that full bias can beapplied to the unijunction emitter 84. Preferably, this is madeconduction times or heart beats.

Thus, it will be apparent that for a single conduction condition of theSCR 54, this condition will not be translated to the remote station.

When the unijunction fires, this causes a spike voltage to be developedacross the coils 90 and 91 of the transformer. The voltage biases thegate-cathode of the SCR 92 so that it can conduct. The SCR 92 continuesto conduct until such time as the circuit at the remote station isopened, for example, by a nurse by turning a switch.

Another important feature of the invention is in the provision of meansto provide battery fail safe. If the battery voltage drops below acertain level circuitry will be activated to cause the speaker to emitconstant audible tone and the light to shine constantly.

The zener diode 93 and the resistors 94 and 95 bias the transistor 96 sothat the same conducts. This puts a negative bias on the gate of the SCR97 so that the same cannot conduct.

The diode 93 and the resistors 94 and 95 are chosen so that if thevoltage from the battery (which is normally 8.4 volts) falls below 6.5volts, the bias on the transistor 96 is removed to the extent that thesame stops conducting. With the stopping'of the conduction of transistor96 the gate of the SCR 97 will be biased positively so that the SCR 97conducts.

As will be apparent, the conduction of the SCR 97 has the same effect asthe conduction of SCR 54. However, the SCR 97 is not cut off and hencethe light and transformer will be on constantly. The speaker then givesa steady tone. Another important feature of the invention is that theaccuracy of the low-rate delay setting and the high-rate setting can bechecked using the circuitry itself. The manner in which this is done isexplained following.

For checking, the switch SW4 is moved to the check position and this isa spring-loaded return switch, the knob of the switch is held down. Whenthe switch SW4 is in the check position the trigger pulses from themechanism 15 are disconnected from the input of one shot and in lieuhereof the switch connects the capacitor 100 with the input of the oneshot. Thus, any of the square waves from the cathode follower 46 will befed to the capacitor 100 which then will develop trigger pulses for eachsquare wave pulse. The trigger pulses are fed to the input of the oneshot and the one shot then will operate in the same manner as if it wereenergized by a patient trigger pulse. The remainder of the circuit willoperate as previously described.

For calibration checking in the low range the switch SW2 remains in thealarm position. For calibration checking in the high range the switchSW2 is moved to the pulse position.

It will be observed that if switch SW4 is actuated during theoff-portion of the time delay mechanism (as connected by the switchSW-2) the negative signal present on the emitter of the follower 46 willbe conducted through the capacitor 100 at the moment of the connectionand turn on the one shot. If the moment of the connection of the switchSW4 occurs during the on-portion of the time delay, the negative signalwhich appears on the follower 46 after completion of the onportion willfeed through the capacitor 100 and turn on the one shot. The one shotwill continue to recycle upon completion of each delay period until theSW4 switch is released.

The output rate of the emitter follower 46 will reflect the rate of thetrigger pulses applied to the input of the one shot. Suppose, forexample, that a patient is being monitored on the low range with thelow-rate knob set on 40, the switch SW4 is pushed in and a stop watch isused to see that the speaker beeps at the rate of about 40 beats perminute.

Another important feature of the invention is that the unit may beoperated in a pulse mode. For this purpose, the switch SW2 is actuatedto the pulse position. With reference to FIG. 1 it will be seen that theswitch SW2 will connect the emitter follower 46 to the output of thehigh delay 60. Thus, it will be apparent, therefore, that the gate ofthe SCR is being fed by both the one shot signal and the delay signalthrough diode 50. The SCR 54 will simply be made to turn off and on as afunction of the heart rate whether that rate is 30, or any other valuewithin the capacity of the instrument.

I claim:

1. For a cardiac monitor, audible-visible alarm means comprising:

first and second transistors, the emitters of which are adapted toreceive a supply voltage transformer mechanism including primary coilmeans and secondary coil means, the ends of primary coil means beingrespectively connected to the collectors of said transistors;

a speaker connectable to the secondary coil means of said transformermechanism;

a circuit including a diode in series with parallelconnected capacitorand neon light, the circuit being connected between the collectors ofsaid transistors;

a first resistor connected to the base of the first transistor and tothe collector of said second transistor; and

second resistor connected to the base of the second transistor and tothe collector of said first transistor.

2. lna cardiac monitor:

trigger mechanism to receive electrical signals developed as a functionof the beat of the patients heart and to convert the signals intotrigger pulses there being a trigger pulse for each beat;

one shot mechanism connected to receive said trigger pulses and havingmeans to develop pulses of first duration each latter pulse beinginitiated by a trigger pulse;

low delay mechanism connected to receive said oneshot pulses and havingmeans actuated at the termination of each one-shot pulse to develop lowdelay pulses and the low delay mechanism including means to adjust theduration of each low delay pulse, said duration corresponding to aselected heart beat rate with a low range;

high delay mechanism connected to receive said oneshot pulses and beingactuated at the termination of each one shot pulse to develop high delaypulses and the high delay mechanism including means to adjust theduration of each high delay pulse, said duration corresponding to aselected heart beat rate with a high range;

comparing means connected to operate alternatively as follows:

a. to receive said one shot pulses and said low delay pulses and tocompare the interval between the end of the low delay pulse and thestart of the next one shot pulse and develop an output signal 7 as afunction of said interval; or

b. to receive said one shot pulses and said high delay pulses anddevelop an output signal which is initiated when the start of a one shotpulse occurs before the termination of a high delay pulse;

monitor mechanism including audio and/or visible means and havingconnections with said comparing means to receive its output signal andactivate the audible and/or visible means when the heart beat rate iswithin the low range and when the heart beat rate is within the highrange; and

switch means to disconnect the trigger mechanism and the input of oneshot mechanism and to connect, alternatively, the output of the lowdelay mechanism or the output of the high delay mechanism with the inputof the one shot mechanism, the switches providing for the use of the oneshot, the low delay and the high delay to check the calibration of saidlow delay and said high delay adjusting means.

3. In a cardiac monitor:

trigger mechanism to receive electrical signals developed as a functionof the beat of a patients heart and to convert the signals into triggerpulses there being a trigger pulse for each beat;

one-shot mechanism connected to receive said trigger pulses and havingmeans to develop pulses of fixed duration, each latter pulse beinginitiated by a trigger pulse;

low delay mechanism connected to receive said one shot pulses and havingmeans actuated at the termination of each one shot pulse to develop lowdelay pulses and the low delay mechanism including means to adjust theduration of each low delay pulse, said duration corresponding to aselected heart beat rate within a low range;

high delay mechanism connected to receive said one shot pulses and beingactuated at the termination of each one shot pulse to develop high delaypulses and the high delay mechanism including means to adjust theduration of each high delay pulse, said duration corresponding to aselected heart beat rate within a high range;

comparing means connected to operate alternatively monitor mechanismincluding audio and/or visible means and having connections with theoutput of said comparing means to receive its output signal and activatethe audible and/or visible means when the heart beat rate is within thelow range and when the heart beat rate is within the high range; and

said connections between the comparing means and the monitor mechanismincluding means operative upon receipt of the initial output signal ofthe comparing means to prevent the comparing means output signals fromreaching the monitor mechanism for a predetermined amount of timewhereby to mask out the effects of false trigger signals.

4. In a cardiac monitor: trigger means for receiving electrical signalsdeveloped as a function of the beat of a human heart and to convert thesignals into trigger pulses, there being a trigger pulse for eachdetected heartbeat,

liming detection means connected for successive actuation by saidtrigger pulses and including means for effectively measuring the timeinterval between successive trigger pulses up to a predetermined timeinterval and for producing an output signal indicative of the rate ofsaid trigger pulses and hence of said human heartbeat,

output means connected to receive said output signal and to produce acorresponding humanly sensible output indication of said humanheartbeat, and

testing means for applying said output signal to the timing means inplace of said trigger pulses whereby said timing means produces saidoutput signal at a frequency corresponding to said predetermined periodthus permitting the calibration of said predetermined time interval tobe checked by observing said humanly sensible output.

1. For a cardiac monitor, audible-visible alarm means comprising: firstand second transistors, the emitters of which are adapted to receive asupply voltage transformer mechanism including primary coil means andsecondary coil means, the ends of primary coil means being respectivelyconnected to the collectors of said transistors; a speaker connectableto the secondary coil means of said transformer mechanism; a circuitincluding a diode in series with parallel-connected capacitor and neonlight, the circuit being connected between the collectors of saidtransistors; a first resistor connected to the base of the firsttransistor and to the collector of said second transistor; and secondresistor connected to the base of the second transistor and to thecollector of said first transistor.
 2. In a cardiac monitor: triggermechanism to receive electrical signals developed as a function of thebeat of the patient''s heart and to convert the signals into triggerpulses there being a trigger pulse for each beat; one shot mechanismconnected to receive said trigger pulses and having means to developpulses of first duration each latter pulse being initiated by a triggerpulse; low delay mechanism connected to receive said one-shot pulses andhaving means actuated at the termination of each one-shot pulse todevelop low delay pulses and the low delay mechanism including means toadjust the duration of each low delay pulse, said duration correspondingto a selected heart beat rate with a low range; high delay mechanismconnected to receive said one-shot pulses and being actuated at thetermination of each one shot pulse to develop high delay pulses and thehigh delay mechanism including means to adjust the duration of each highdelay pulse, said duration corresponding to a selected heart beat ratewith a high range; comparing means connected to operate alternatively asfollows: a. to receive said one shot pulses and said low delay pulsesand to compare the interval between the end of the low delay pulse andthe start of the next one shot pulse and develop an output signal as afunction of said interval; or b. to receive said one shot pulses andsaid high delay pulses and develop an output signal which is initiatedwhen the start of a one shot pulse occurs before the termination of ahigh delay pulse; monitor mechanism including audio and/or visible meansand having connections with said comparing means to receive its outputsignal and activate the audible and/or visible means when the heart beatrate is within the low range and when the heart beat rate is within thehigh range; and switch means to disconnect the trigger mechanism and theinput of one shot mechanism and to connect, alternatively, the output ofthe low delay mechanism or the output of the high delay mechanism withthe input of the one shot mechanism, the switches providing for the useof the one shot, the low delay and the high delay to check thecalibration of said low delay and said high delay adjusting means.
 3. Ina cardiac monitor: trigger mechanism to receive electrical signalsdeveloped as a function of the beat of a patient''s heart and to convertthe signals into trigger pulses there being a trigger pulse for eachbeat; one-shot mechanism connected to receive said trigger pulses andhaving means to develop pulses of fixed duration, each latter pulsebeing initiated by a trigger pulse; low delay mechanism connected toreceive said one shot pulses and having means actuated at thetermination of each one shot pulse to develop low delay pulses and thelow delay mechanism including means to adjust the duration of each lowdelay pulse, said duration corresponding to a selected heart beat ratewithin a low range; high delay mechanism connected to receive said oneshot pulses and being actuated at the termination of each one shot pulseto develop high delay pulses and the high delay mechanism includingmeans to adjust the duration of each high delay pulse, said durationcorresponding to a selected heart beat rate within a high range;comparing means connected to operate alternatively as follows: a. toreceive said one shot pulses and said low delay pulses and to comparethe interval between the end of a low delay pulse and the start of thenext one shot pulse and develop an output signal as a function of saidinterval; or b. to receive said one shot pulses and said high delaypulses and develop an output signal which is initiated when the start ofa one shot pulse occurs before the termination of a high delay pulse;monitor mechanism including audio and/or visible means and havingconnections with the output of said comparing means to receive itsoutput signal and activate the audible and/or visible means when theheart beat rate is within the low range and when the heart beat rate iswithin the high range; and said connections between the comparing meansand the monitor mechanism including means operative upon receipt of theinitial output signal of the comparing means to prevent the comparingmeans output signals from reaching the monitor mechanism for apredetermined amount of time whereby to mask out the effects of falsetrigger signals.
 4. In a cardiac monitor: trigger means for receivingelectrical signals developed as a function of the beat of a human heartand to convert the signals into trigger pulses, there being a triggerpulse for each detected heartbeat, timing detection means connected forsuccessive actuation by said trigger pulses and including means foreffectively measuring the time interval between successive triggerpulses up to a predetermined time interval and for producing an outputsignal indicative of the rate of said trigger pulses and hence of saidhuman heartbeat, output means connected to receive said output signaland to produce a corresponding humanly sensible output indication ofsaid human heartbeat, and testing means for applying said output signalto the timing means in place of said trigger pulses whereby said timingmeans produces said output signal at a frequency corresponding to saidpredetermined period thus permitting the calibration of saidpredetermined time interval to be checked by observing said humanlysensible output.